Jihadists rebuild safe havens in Afghanistan to attack West

Afghan security forces inspect the site of a suicide attack in Jalalabad last weekNOORULLAH SHIRZADA/GETTY IMAGES

Terrorist groups are rebuilding safe havens in Afghanistan for potential attacks on the West, even as the Taliban edges closer to peace talks aimed at ending the 16-year conflict, officials in the US and Pakistan have indicated.

An invitation by Islamic State last week, urging fighters to leave their dwindling “caliphate” in Iraq and Syria for fertile ground in Afghanistan, has crystallised fears in neighbouring states and Washington that, more than 16 years after 9/11, terrorists are returning to old haunts.

A senior American general is understood to have warned US senators last week that al-Qaeda remains a potent threat in Afghanistan, 16 years after it was routed in the 2001 invasion that followed attacks on New York and Washington. Officials in Pakistan claim its…